Separation
by Little Miss Jigsaw
Summary: Haku misses Chihiro. Chihiro misses Haku. It's been four years since she came back from the spirit world, and Chihiro is miserable. One day, while running from a gang of bullies, she finds herself in the spirit world again, but something is wrong. R&R!
1. Missing You

_please note that this is my first ever Spirited Away FanFic. I know some things will be a little off, as I am certainly no expert in Japanese culture, nor am I familiar with many of their names for things, other than a few weapons._

Also, if the characters are a little OOC for the first couple of chapters, I am sorry, but it has been far to long since I last watched SA, something I hope to remedy ASAP, now that I have the money for the DVD. 

_Please forgive any errors, factual, or grammar/spelling-wise._

Last but not least: Enjoy, and please review. 

_**Separation  
**_

Chapter One: Missing You

**_  
_**Some people, or rather, spirits, would have said that the young dragon was cold, and unfeeling. Sometimes even bordering on rude. Those were the ones who didn't know Kohaku. The spirits who did know him knew that he was lonely, that he missed _her. _ It seemed to be something he would keep doing until the end of time, or until she came back.  
She was Chihiro, the young girl who had been trapped in the spirit world, and had stolen Haku's heart. It was a difficult thing for a dragon to admit, falling for a human, especially when the girl hadn't even tried, or known.  
Of course, she had been a rather young girl, when he had last met her, no more than eleven, so how would she have known? Though, his human form hadn't appeared much older than her, maybe twelve. Chihiro would be close to fifteen now, and Haku's appearence was now that of a tall, thin, handsome boy of sixteen.

Each passing day, made Haku miss the girl even more. He hadn't been much for talking in the first place, but since Chihiro's return to her own world, he spoke even less. This annoyed Lin, who thuoght that the best way to make him snap out of his long depression was to make him angry, since that was an emotion he never showed anymore. She got close, a few times, but any time she got close, Kamaji would intervene, before she could succeed. One day, after being dragged away from Haku in a particularly rough manner, Lin got angry.

"Why do you keep stopping me?" she grumbled, "an outburst might do him some good."

"It won't make him forget Sen. I told you, you didn't didn't understand love," said Kamaji, "All him getting angry will do is earn you a lost limb."

Pouting, Lin began to feed the sootballs their lunch, which they had been squeaking for, for half an hour. Haku, whom had been listening to their conversation, slipped quietly out of the boiler room, in dragon form. He was going to talk to the bath House mistress, Zaniba.

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Chihiro fiddled with the shiny violet hair-tie she had been given years before. When her parents had asked where she'd gotten it, she simply told them she had found it in her room one day, and they had asked no more about it. Strange that her parents didn't remember their time as pigs. Chihiro remembered it all though. She remembred her parents transforming into pigs, seeing a barge full of spirits, meeting Yubaba, and her twin, Zaniba. she remembered working in the bathhouse, but what she remembered most was _him_. And his promise that they would meet again someday. That had been four years ago, and she missed Haku terribly. She had tried to get back to his world several times over the years, always on the day that she had arrived the first time, but it never worked.

Her parents thought that Haku was possibly a boy from school, as most of her free time was spent day-dreaming, or drawing him. Both in his human and dragon forms. The drawings were something that often made her mother refer to the boy as "Chihiro's Dragon."

Today had been a particularly bad day at school, for the girl. She wasn't the most popular, kept to herself, and as a result had no friends. Most seemed to think that she was strange. She heard the whispers behind her back that she wasn't normal, that she wasn't of that world. Maybe the fact that she had spent so long in the spirit world had changed her somehow, or maybe it was just the other teens being mean. Today there had been more whispers and taunts than normal, and one event that she would have rather forgotten. So, her afternoon was going to be spent doing an art project for school. Art assignments were always her favorite. They gave her an excuse to do something she loved. 

"Hey," said her mother's voice, from the doorway, "What are you painting today?"

"Something for school," Chihiro replied quietly, "We were told to turn some of our most memorable dreams into one painting. At least all mine are of the same place, and will make sense, all put together."

Her mother got closer, so she could see the rough sketch, that was just beginning to be covered with paint, "Ah, your dragon again. And the spirit BathHouse. Chihiro, where have you seen all this before?"

"Just things from my dreams Mom... It really is a wonderful place to escape to," said Chihiro. Without thinking, she turned her face towards her mother, allowing the woman to see the bruise that covered her left cheek, That had come from the event she hadn't wanted to think about. A gang of bullies had cornered her on her way home.

"Chihiro!" her mother cried, "What happened!?"

"Nothing that hasn't happened before," Chihiro muttered, turning back to her work, "It was a bunch of kids from school... They cornered me, and hit me."

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Zaniba sighed. She had heard this question from Haku many times since she had taken her sister's place, as the mistress of the bath house. He wanted to know if there was any way he could see Chihiro, or speak to her.

"All I can do," the old witch informed him, "Is show you something that has happened recently that had a strong impact on her mind. You may see a few things, I'm not sure... But most likely, it will be memories from today."

"Do it," the boy replied. It wasn't a request. It was an order. 

For a moment, Zaniba considered refusing, just for his nerve to give her an order, but then she remembered Lin telling her how miserable the child was. "Should I, No-Face?" she asked the dark spirit who stood in the corner, perfectly still.

"Uh... Uh..." he replied, nodding.

Knowing that the spirit would say yes, Zaniba had already turned her attention to Haku, "Very well. Close your eyes, boy. " Haku did as he was told, and felt Zaniba's hand on top of his head, and heard her mutter something he didn't understand. He didn't have time to decipher what it was, for almost instantaneously, he was no longer looking at the backs of his eyelids, but a group of kids, following another girl, who looked as if she was trying desperately to ignore them, It was Chihiro! She had certainly grown. She was no longer the ungangly, clumsy, stick of a child he had met, four years ago. She had turned into a real beauty. Something flashed, in her long hair. The hair-tie Zaniba had made for her, he realized.

The group behind her said something, but Haku couldn't hear what. He saw Chihiro's brown eyes widen for a moment, but she kept walking, she didn't turn to face them. She did turn around, however, when another group stepped in front of her, blocking her path, but the first group was already to close for her to get away. She ran down an alley, in an attempt to escape, but the alley only led to a dead end. Cornered, Chihiro seemed to plead with the mob, and pressed herself against a wall, as if she were trying to go through it. The first blow was from a boy, probably twice Chihiro's size, to her cheek. The rest were all to the lower areas of her body.

Before Haku could fully register the fact that there was nothing he could do to help, the memory changed, to one of Chihiro, talking, or rather, arguing, with a woman who had to be her mother. As before, he couldn't hear what was said. After a moment, Chihiro's mother left, and Chihiro went back to the canvas in front of her. Looking at it, Haku realized that it was of him, the bath house, and some of the other spirits that Chihiro had met. Looking around the room, he saw that there were sketches, and paintings similiar to the one she was working on right then.

"Haku..." he heard, and he jumped. Somehow he was able to hear the girl now, possibly because what she said had stuck in her mind, "I miss you... I want to get back to you... I want to see you again..."

"I miss you too, Chihiro..." Haku sighed, wishing she could hear him. And all too soon, he was back in Zaniba's office.

-------------------------------

Chihiro shook her head, as she answered her father's call for her to come down and eat dinner. For a few minutes there, it had felt like someone was in her head, sifting through her memories. And for a moment, she could have sworn that she felt Haku there... But that was silly, he was in another world. A world that she was more than likely never going to see again. _What if I could go back? _ She wondered, stopping on the middle of the stairs, _Would he remember me? Has he even missed me, as much as I have him? _ Thoughts like that continued to float around her head, until finally her father had to call for her again, to bring her out of her thoughts.

Dinner was as it usually was. Silent. Chihiro didn't bother to share the day's events with her parents, and they didn't ask. They had learned not too, long ago, after a particularly bad day of teasing. So, their meals were spent in silence, Chihiro daydreaming, and her parents wondering just what to do about their daughter, and her introverted ways. They hadn't thought much of her being forever in daydreams at first, nor had they thought much of the fact that she didn't seem to fit in at her school. The day dreams were an escape from all the things she wasn't used to, and as for not fitting in, she was the new kid. But after six months, they were little concerned, after a year, they were worried, after one and a half, they had accepted that she just wasn't going to fit in at her school, and that her constant daydreaming was a relief from that. Now, after seeing the bruise on her face, and glimpsing some of the others, on her upper arms, they were worried again, especially since Chihiro had told her mother it had happened before.

She had been like that since they had gone to that old theme park, and came back out, to find the car filled with dust, and they had gone to their new home, to find that the furniture was also covered in a fine layer of dust. They had tried to talk to her about what was bothering her, but all she would say was she missed a friend. After that was when her sketching the boy she called "Haku" started. Neither of them could remember a boy by that name in the town they had lived in previously. Chihiro was a confusing girl, to say the least... Strange, even, as much as her mother hated to think it, knowing that the girl put up with being called names at school. It was if she had changed over night, one day, she was sullen, and opinionated, and talkative, the next she was depressed, introverted, and quiet.

The few dates she had been asked out on had been turned down with a mumbled "no, thank you." A few of the boys had asked again, after being rejected once, but not many, and those who did were turned down again, and again, if they asked a third time. Finally, all boys had given up, and not long after, one of Chihiro's drawings had been stolen from her desk, and the rumors that she was not normal, or not being of the human world started circling about.

That had only made the girl withdraw farther into her shell.

----------------------------------

Left hurt by what he had seen, Haku didn't speak to Zaniba, until she asked, "Is that what you wanted to see, boy? Her being miserable?"

"Of course not," he replied, quietly, "I had hoped to see her happy..."

"Well, she isn't... You didn't make her forget. She might have been happy, if she hadn't remembered anything about our world, and about you. Now she's in her world, suffering, because she loves a man she can never be with, and because she is considered 'different' by her peers. Not making her forget was a very selfish thing, Haku..."

"I know..." said Haku, ashamed, "If I had known the extent to which it would harm her, emotionally, I wouldn't have been so selfish... And how do you know she loves me?"

"You weren't in my cottage, when she came to beg for your life, without realizing she had already saved you, by simply loving you, Kohaku. And I saw, and heard, what you did, when you were in her memory. If that isn't enough of a clue for you, my boy, then all hope is lost for your powers of observation."

"Is there any way that I could speak to her, Zaniba? Even for a moment?"

"I'm afraid not. She would have to come to this world for you to have any contact with her, other than seeing her memories, though you should be able to do that on your own now, since you've been in her head once now."

"I think that would only cause me more pain," Haku muttered, but Zaniba still caught it.

"If it is meant to be, for you and your human, then fate will bring her back, Haku, take comfort in that, at least."

"But what if it isn't?"

"Then you will spend the rest of eternity pining for her, and she will do the same.. Only she will get a release eventually... Death. You will have no release."

Haku suddenly became very interested in the floor. He knew she was right. He was truly trapped there, in that world, forever. 

------------------------------

"Chihiro," said the girl's father, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Dad," Chihiro answered, from under her blankets.

"I don't think you are," he said, sitting on the edge of her bed, "You got beat up for no reason, Chihiro, you have no friends, and you spend all your time either painting, or off in another world. Why?"

"Maybe I just don't belong here, Dad," she replied.

"When we moved here, you said you could handle it."

_Of course you'd think I meant "here" as in this town, and school. _She thought with a mental sigh, _that's not what I meant at all... _"That was four years ago. I tried to fit in," _Lie... I never did, but I shouldn't have had to change just to make others like me... _"But you see how well that has gone." _It might have gone a damn bit better if they all didn't have some sort of sixth sense or something, that lets them know I've been elsewhere... _

"Your mother and are just worried about you. Half the time, I don't think you're even here, really, that you're in another dimension, with that boy you draw all the time."

"Maybe I am," Chihiro said, "Maybe my dreams are better than things here. At least when I'm 'in my own world' or 'dimension' whatever you want to call it, I can avoid being hit for no damn reason, I can avoid everyone that hates me, or thinks I'm strange. "

Her father sighed, and left, knowing better than to press her any farther that night. And Chihiro was left to dream of soaring through the sky, on the back of a long white dragon, adding another scene to her painting.

The dream changed, however, to depict her dragon burning, and the bath house, and the rest of her friends with him. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get to them, to save them. When she woke in the middle of the night, screaming, drenched in sweat, and skin so hot even her eyes were burning, she knew something bad was going to happen. Something very bad. 

And there wasn't anything she could do about it. Not a single thing, unless she could get back to the spirit world.

Chihiro didn't sleep for so much as the blink of an eye for the rest of the night.

_Well, what did you think? Remember, first SA fic... Doing my best. _


	2. Communication, Fight, and Flight

_Here is chapter two... I hope everyone enjoys this, and again, PLEASE review. _

Chapter Two: Communication, Fight, and Flight

School didn't start until late, the next morning, so Chihiro was free to add more to her painting. She decided to leave the previous night's events off of it, and stick to the beginning of the dream only. She wasn't sure she wanted her teacher, or any of her class mates to see that. That was just asking for more whispers behind her back.

"You work fast," said her mother, admiring her work, "This was still mostly blank, as far as paint, yesterday afternoon, now it's nearly done. Think you'll have it done in time for school?"

Chihiro shrugged, not looking at her mom, nor did she lift the paintbrush from the painting. In truth, she knew she'd have it done. She knew exactly how fast she could paint, and by her calculations, she'd have it done, and still have time to spare, before she had to leave. "I was up early," she offered as an explanation. Indeed she had been up early. Three am, was her guess, as she hadn't looked at the clock.

"I know," her mother replied, "I heard you scream last night... What was wrong?"

"I saw everything burning... The dragon, the bath house, the spirits, everything, and I couldn't get to any of them."

"Chihiro, they're your dreams, why so much fuss over dreams?"

_If only you knew, Mom, if only you knew... _ "I dunno," she said, with another non-commital shrug, "It was a dream, that's all."

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Haku did what he could to keep his mind off of seeing Chihiro being beaten up, but so far nothing was working. For the moment, he had settled on simply lazily flying around the bathhouse, but even that brought his mind back to Chihiro. It had been when she was flying with him that she had remembered his name. _I give up... She's permanently grafted into my thoughts, it seems. _He would have liked to get his hands on the group that had beat the girl... They'd have regretted it, and they wouldn't have done it again. _After all... Hard to hit someone, when you lack the proper appendages... _

Banishing these morbid thoughts, the dragon continued with his flight, trying to get back into Chihiro's head, as Zaniba had said he would be able to. It was proving difficult. 

------------------------------

As Chihiro had predicted, she was done with her artwork in time to get ready for school, which she did in a hurry, dragging on a pair of blue denim shorts, and a loose blue-green t-shirt. Her hair, now reaching past the middle of her back, was lazily pulled through her violet hair-tie, though only partially, so she had one little round ball of hair in the center of a rat's nest. Not that she cared, she was in a hurry. If she left early, she would be able to get to school before anyone else even left their houses, then she could at least avoid being hit until school was done, that way her painting wouldn't be damaged.

She shouted a goodbye to her mother, and waved to her father, as she passed him on the sidewalk, and all but flew to school. Halfway there, she felt that presence in her mind again, only this time it didn't seem like it was in her memory, but rather, in the thoughts of then and there.

_Get out. _She thought at it, _What're you doing in my head in the first place? _

The reply she got sounded so surprised, she couldn't help but smile. _Chihiro!?_

There was something familiar about that voice, _Yes, I'm Chihiro... Who are you? And how did you get in my head?_

It's good to hear you again, Little One... It is Haku, Chihiro, and Zaniba is how.

Haku! Wha- how... But you're- She couldn't even get a full thought out. She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she were speaking. _You're not even in this world... Are you? _She looked over her shoulder, just for good measure.

_No, I'm not. I'm still at the BathHouse... _She could feel him sigh, _I've missed you._

Chihiro bit her lip, _I've missed you too... I wish I could go back... I wouldn't have been so desperate to leave, if I had known what it would be like coming back..._

I saw what happened to you yesterday... Does that happen often?

So it WAS you in my head, yesterday... Yes, that happens often. It didn't used to, but now it does. They do it because they think I'm strange, that I don't belong here.

_The town, or that world?_

Both. I'm inclined to agree with them, sometimes, especially when I remember how much I miss you.

Another sigh, _Chihiro, you shouldn't. It's my fault you're miserable there._

How can you say that? It's no one's fault...

No, it really is my fault. I should have made you forget about your time in the spirit world...

No. She thought back, with determination, _I didn't, and still don't, want to forget everything... Or you. Being beaten up, and called names is worth remembering._

They argued the ups and downs of her remembering, as she continued her way to school. Personally, Chihiro would have been happy, even if they were having a full scale fight. It was wonderful, just to be able to hear her Dragon's voice, and feel his presence in her mind. She arrived at school, with a smile on her face. Something she hadn't done in quite a long while. One of her teachers noticed.

"Good morning, Chihiro. Any reason you're smiling?"

Chihiro shrugged, as she responded to something Haku said. _No, she's not one who hits me... _ She handed her paiting to the woman, "I managed to finish that early, Ma'am." she said to the young woman, with a half-bow. Some of the other students, who had arrived earlier than her gave her jealous glares. She knew those well. She got them on a daily basis, when she did something that pleased a teacher. 

All through class, she talked with Haku, surprised at the lack of akwardness. Somehow, she had always imagined that if she ever did get to speak to him again, it would be a rather akward thing at first, yet here they were, carrying on as if they did so every day. By the time school let out, she hadn't managed to remember a thing the teachers had said, save that homework assignments were due back in a few days. Mercifully, the bullies were kept after school, giving her safe passage home.

Seeing their daughter come home smiling was a rare sight indeed, to Chihiro's parents. She had a slightly dreamy look in her eyes as well. As per usual though, she greeted them vaguely, and went up to her room. Trading confused glances, and shrugs, they decided they'd ask her what was up at dinner. 

----------------------------

Haku felt much better than he had in a long while, after being able to talk to Chihiro. But he still wasn't comepletely happy. He doubted he would be, unless she was there with him. He'd had to break off the connection with her eventually, when Lin came, yelling at him that it was time for dinner. After promising Chihiro that he would talk with her again, he left. He wondered if Zaniba had known that he would be able to speak telepathically with the girl, by getting into her mind. He guessed that she had, and had just wanted him to figure out how to do so on his own. Though he had ended up doing it on accident.

He asked the old witch, later, if she had known, her reply was simply a smirk and, "When you want something bad enough, you can get it, if you just try."

Somewhat put out by her answer, he avoided her for the rest of the night. He didn't tell anyone else he had spoken with Chihiro. The fact that he was keeping something a secret was severely annoying Lin, who couldn't stand not knowing something. Kamaji thought her behavoir was childish, and told her so, only annoying her even more. When she finally gave up, and stalked off to go to bed, Haku almost laughed.

At first, that night, he slept better than he had in four years, but then, his pleasant dream changed. Like Chihiro, he saw everything, and everyone he knew, burning. And like Chihiro, he woke, covered in sweat, and feverish.

The same sense of foreboding washed over him, as well. Something was coming. And it spelled trouble for the bathhouse.

---------------------------

Chihiro wasn't so lucky as to avoid a beating the next afternoon. Speaking with Haku distracted her enough, that she wasn't paying quite enough attention to her surroundings, and she didn't see the six other kids approaching from two sides. The first blow was a sucker punch, to the small of her back, that left her momentarily breathless. Before she could even register the fact that she had been hit a second time, this time to the ribs, a third and fourth punch were placed to her shoulder blades. She couldn't even answer Haku when he asked what was going on... All that was getting through to him, she was sure, was the pain.

An arm hooked around her throat, and pulled her back up. A fist connected with her stomach, and she tried to ball up, to protect herself, but being held up hindered her. Haku's thoughts screamed at her to tell him what was going on, but she couldn't. She managed to clamp down on her captor's arm with her teeth. She tasted something coppery, and realized she had drawn blood. She tore at the skin she had hold of, and heard several disgusted yells, and one of pain. Before the one holding her released her, she managed to make another, this one a boy, back off with a well placed kick. She hit the ground, and tried to scramble to her feet, but was held down when someone stepped hard on her back.

"GET OFF!" She shrieked at the group, only to be answered by laughs.

_Chihiro! What's wrong!_

Gang... Jumped me... being hit...

She managed to squirm out from under the foot that held her down. A few kicks later, she managed to clamber to her feet, somewhat clumsily. She wasted no time before she started running.

_Please don't follow, please don't follow, please don't follow. _She mentally begged. Generally, she didn't get an answer to that.

_Can you make it somewhere safe, Chihiro? _Haku wanted to know

_I can... if they don't catch up to me... Dammit... They're following me... _

She could hear six pairs of feet pounding on the pavement behind her. She saw a path turn off up ahead, and took it, not even thinking about where it would lead. Her feet were taking her down memory lane, and she didn't really care, as long as she could get away. The gang meant business today, and she doubted they would stop beating her until she was either unconcious, or had to be taken to the hospital... Or maybe both. She passed a small group of shrines, and she could see her house, atop a hill, but she didn't dare try to climb the hill to get there. That would only slow her down. She just kept running. There, nestled in the trees was a short, fat little statue

There was a tunnel ahead, and another of those statues.

She ran into the tunnel, no longer knowing where she was. All she wanted was to get away.

She kept running, and running, until she finally came to the top of an old set of stairs, adorned with a frog statue, and there she collapsed, in pain, and barely able to breathe. 

-----------------------------

_Chihiro! CHIHIRO! _Haku mentally shouted. But he could no longer sense her presence. Anxious, he paced back and forth, trying to make a connection with her again, but he couldn't.

"what's up with him?" Lin asked Kamaji, as she arrived in the boiler room, with Kamiji's dinner. "I think I prefered him moping..."

A good thump to the back of her head, with one of Kamiji's many hands put her in her place, "why don't you go ask him, instead of bothering me?"

Haku wasn't listening. He was too busy trying to think... Something about the last thoughts he'd heard from Chihiro were bothering him. "_The tunnel... Have to get to the tunnel... Can't follow me... in... spirit..._"

"Haku!" Lin was saying, waving a hand in front of his face, "Hellllooooo, anybody home in there? Yoohooo!"

The boy, however, was oblivious to the fact that she was even there... Something was falling into place in his mind.

"KOHAKU! Answer me, Dragon!" Lin shouted, poking his arm with one finger.

_She's here... She crossed the barrier... But how?... Have to find her, before she disappears... _"Lin!" he suddenly said, making the woman nearly jump out of her skin.

"Ahhh! Don't do that!" she replied, scornfully.

"You have to help me... Chihi- Sen... is here... She crossed the barrier. We have to find her, before she disappears."

"Wha? Huh? How is she here? Humans aren't supposed to be able to cross in the first place, let alone twice!." Lin argued. The idea that the girl would be able to get back was preposterous.

"Don't argue with me, woman!" Haku growled, emerald eyes flashing, "Just come on."

Grumbling that she wasn't a slave, Lin followed the boy out of the boiler room.

_We have to hurry... It'll be sundown soon... We won't be able to get her home, if we don't find her by sundown... Wait... Do I even want to send her home? She hates it there, and I don't feel right without her... But what about her parents?_

In turmoil over what to do, Haku searched. She couldn't have gone far from the entrance, with as exausted as she had seemed, so it was best to start in areas close to there.

"Ha..Ku... Why... Do we... have... to run... thi-this fast... can't... breathe..." Lin complained.

"Do you want Sen to disappear forever?" Haku asked, not caring if she answered or not.

Ahead of them, next to the old frog, lay the unconcious form of Chihiro. "Oooooh dear..." said Lin, seeing the girl turning transparent, as the sun began to disappear from the sky.

"Lin, hurry, and get some food. Now!"

_Hmmm, decisions decisions... Let her stay or send her home? AFTER they save her of course..._


	3. Reunion

_Thank you, to all those of you who have reviewed.  
Those who haven't: Remember, us writers flourish with reviews, we need 'em!_

A/N: please don't get used to updates being this quick. This one is being done early for a reason:

I recently started a Spirited away role-playing game, and am in need of players. The characters from the original cast that are needed are: Zeniba, Yubabba, Boh, Kamaji, and Lin. Original characters, spirit or human, are also appreciated, but I really need the characters listed previously to be taken, as we can't start without at least Zeniba and Yubabba. I am Chihiro, a good friend is Haku, and the demon who will be our main enemy. Also within the current players is a fire Spirit.

Keep in mind that you can play multiple characters, so if you want to be from the original cast, AND have your own, that's fine with me.  
Here is the link to it. Though you will be required to sign up on the site... http:// game.cgi?gi20855&gnSpirited+Away:+Return&date1163603601

Now, in reward for going through my rant, you may get on with the story. 

Chapter Three: Reunion

Chihiro opened her eyes to see a slightly familiar ceiling, obscured by a familiar face, with shining emerald eyes, and black hair that had a greenish tint. She blinked, expecting the face and ceiling to disappear, to be replaced by either sky, or the ceiling of her room. When they didn't, she blinked again, then again. Still the ceiling and the face were there, and voices too. She rubbed her eyes with one hand. When she stopped, she let her vision clear once more. As it did, she felt a hand on her cheek. It was then that the full realization that Haku was really leaning over her, touching her, hit her.

She sat up and wrapped her arms around him so fast that she sent him tumbling backwards, which pulled her forward. She ended up lying on top of him, arms crushing him, face buried against his shoulder. The pain of her movements didn't register for a few moments, but by time they did, she was thoroughly distracted with breathing in Haku's scent. She felt hesitant arms snake around her, and give her a gentle squeeze.

Haku could feel the fabric on his shoulder getting wetter, and wetter by the moment, and realized Chihiro was crying.

The girl pushed herself off of him, and sat back to get a better look. He looked much like he had when she had left, save for he was taller, and he had obviously matured. His clothes were much like the ones she's left him in, except instead of white on blue, it was black on blue-green. Unable to resist, she embraced him again.

"I thought I would never see you again," she said, her voice muffled against his clothes.

"I promised you, didn't I?" he replied, trying to sound light-hearted, and failing. Like Chihiro, he couldn't resist wrapping his arms around her again. When they had let eachother go, he asked, "Why did you come here, anyway?"

"I panicked... I thought that gang was going to seriously hurt me. I never imagined that I would actually be able to get back, though, I never have been able to before. I just thought that I could hide, or that they would get creeped out by all the shrines..." she paused, "Either way, I'm glad I was able to get back. I've been wanting to for four years."

"What about your parents? It's going to be a long while before you can get home, Chihiro."

"I... I don't want to go home," Chihiro replied, in a determined manner. "You saw what I had to go through every day." She lifted the side of her shirt, to show that her ribcage was all one solid bruise, on both sides. "I go home, I go back to this, and I keep puttng up with it, until they either kill me, or put me in the hospital."

"You didn't answer the 'what about your parents' part, Dope," said a wry voice from the direction of the elevator. In her happiness to see Haku, she had been oblivious to Kamaji, and Lin.

"Lin!... I know... I avoided it on purpose. When I find an answer for it, I'll give it..."

"I think now would be a good time to answer it," Kamaji told her.

Chihiro sighed, "I don't know how to answer it... But I'm not going back."

Seeing that it was pointless to argue further, Haku asked if Kamaji had any herbs that might make Chihiro's bruises heal faster. 

----------------------------------

Meanwhile, in her world, Chihiro's mother and father were pacing back and forth, worridly. She hadn't come home from school, and it was several hours after dark. They had called her teachers, and all had said they saw her heading home. Where could she possibly be? What if the gang of kids who had attacked her a few days before had done something to her? What if she was lying unconcious in an alley somewhere... or worse.. So many things that could have happened to her... She could even have run away, if she had heard their conversation a few nights before... As if to reflect their moods, a loud crack of thunder rang out, and the sky lit up, as rain began to pour down.

More phone calls were made, to all of their friends, and anyone they could think of that Chihiro might have gone to, but no such luck, none of them had seen her. It was if she had just disappeared from the face of the earth.

---------------------------------

Chihiro sat on the railing of the bridge, with Haku, getting drenched, as rain bucketed down. She held on to Haku's hand, as they watched the train light in the distance. Chihiro shivered slightly, when a gust of wind blew, driving the rain into their skin all the harder. She shivered again, when Haku placed an arm over her shoulders, and pulled her closer, but for an entirely different reason. She tensed for a moment, still a little unsure of herself, then let herself relax, and she rested her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that, until the rain, and clouds finally disappeared, and there was nothing left in the sky, but a full moon, and billions of stars. It was a beautiful sight.

Looking at the moon, the first pangs of homesickness hit Chihiro. She did miss her parents, but she wasn't going back. She may have wished her parents could be around, but there really wasn't any other place she wanted to be than right there, with her dragon.

"Haku?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you really think we'd meet again, when you promised we would?"

"To be honest, no... And I didn't think I'd regret seeing you go as much as I did."

"In other words, it's just like Lin said, you were comepletely miserable."

A low growl emitted from Haku, "I'll have to kill that woman someday... Or turn her into a sheep."

"Why a sheep?" Chihiro couldn't resist asking.

"Because it's something different, and she would be useful," Haku replied, with a deep chuckle.

Chihiro laughed. After the laughs were over, the pair sat in silence, until Chihiro finally asked, "Why so desperate to know if I want to go home or not, Haku?"

"Because as much as I want you to stay, I don't want you to be away from your parents. I was selfish once before, when I didn't make you forget, I'm not going to do it again."

"I told you before, I didn't want to forget, so you weren't being selfish..."

"Again, you avoid the parents part of that," Haku reminded her.

Chihiro sighed, "Alright... I miss them already, but not enough to go back. " And she certainly didn't. Not after what she'd heard the night that her parents found out about her being beaten up.

-----------------------------

_Chihiro sat at the top of the stairs, staring at nothing. Her parents were arguing about something, and didn't even know she was listening._

"We can't just let her go on as she has," her mother hissed. "The girl is miserable, you know that! "

"So what do you suggest Yukimi? That we send her away? She'd hate us!"

"It would be for her own good, Kenshin, and you know it. She needs to get away from here, for good."

"So you want to send our daughter to another country, to live with an aunt she's never even met? Yeah, good plan."

"Oh come on, you know Yoshiro would love to see her. And, she's a psychiatrist, she may be able to help Chihiro."

"Sure, hand her over to dear sister Yoshi, to be belittled, and called crazy."

"Kenshin! She can't stay here! What happens if those bullies aren't just satisfied with bruising her? What if they do worse next time? And what if it's this place that's causing all her dreams?"

"She seems to enjoy them..." Kenshin replied, though Chihiro could tell her father was losing resistance. She was balling up her fists so hard her knuckles were white, and she could feel her fingernails biting into her skin, not quite hard enough to draw blood. As desperate as she was to get away from that place, she didn't want to go live with her aunt Yoshiro, in America. No, she wanted to get away to a different world entirely. She thought for a moment that they were done , but they continued, just as she was getting up. She promptly sat down again, not wanting to miss anything.

"Fine..." Kenshin sighed, "Arrange things with your sister. When everything is set we'll tell Chihiro. But it's you that gets to do it, Yuki."

"Alright."

"I'm going up to talk to her..."

Hearing her father's footsteps, Chihiro got to her feet, and went as quietly as she could to her room, and dove into bed. 

-----------------------------------

After that was when he had told her that half the time she was in her own dimension... "My parents were going to send me away, for good, anyway," Chihiro said softly.

"What?"

"They were going to send me away, to live with an aunt, in another country. I over-heard them talking about it, the night you were in my head, looking through memories. Sounded like they were going to send me away for good..."

"Oh," said Haku, understanding her reluctance to get to the subject of her mother and father, "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about. They were right, I needed to get away from there, just not in the way they wanted me to-" she stopped when the light from a lantern was suddenly blocked. She turned, and saw an immense child, at least three times Chihiro's own height, and possibly a good four times her width.

"Sen!" said the child, in a voice that was amusing squeaky, for one so large. Perched on top of his head was a tiny bird, almost small enough to be mistaken for a fly. The bird buzzed down, and hovered in front of Chihiro's face, to land on her nose.

"Hello, Boh," said Haku, and Chihiro simultaneously. Chihiro found herself being picked up, and hugged so tightly she thought she might pop. She managed to squeak, "little... help... can't... breathe... in... pain..."

Haku growled a warning at Boh, "Let her go, you're hurting her."

Chihiro was released, and she gasped for air, "Nice to... see you... too... Boh."

"It's good you're here, Sen," said Boh, holding out his hand for the bird to land on, "Auntie Zeniba says that something bad is coming..."

Haku and Chihiro both looked at one another, remembering their dreams. Something was wrong, after all.

--------------------------------

_And for those who have asked, yes, this is my first SA fic. All I have written previously is RE and CSI_


	4. The Fire Spirit and The Cat

_Here is chapter 4, I hope you like it. I suffered a slight case of writer's block around the middle, due to my excitment at getting my SA game started. _

I dunno why, but I felt compelled to post this early... I tend to do that...

Anyway, enjoy and PLEASE review. I'll give you candies! -holds up bags of chocolates and hard candies-

Chapter Four: The Fire Spirit and The Cat__

  
"I'm sorry Miss, but we just can't find any other clues as to where she went after that..."

Kenshin and Yukimi had called the police, when Chihiro still hadn't returned home. They had managed to find the kids who had attacked the girl, and they admitted to chasing her the day before, and they showed them where they had last seen Chihiro. They added in a somewhat scathing manner that while they had been following her, Chihiro had been laughing for no appearent reason, and even talking to herself now and then. The bravest hinted at Kenshin that Chihiro had gone back to where she belonged, with witches and demons. The older man was tempted to show the boy a demon, but resisted.

The last place Chihiro had been seen was entering the old Theme Park. The last evidence there was of her was at the end of the tunnel.

No more. No less. It was as if she had vanished.

------------------------

Chihiro woke once again to unfamiliar surroundings, and it took her a moment to register the fact that she wasn't home. When she tried to swing her legs off her bed, like she normally would have done, she found that she had only succeeded in getting a growl from the dragon who slept curled next to her, when her legs ended up being draped over his back. Blinking rapidly, and rubbing her eyes, Chihiro remembered where she was and why. With a tired groan, she slumped back into the blankets and pillows that made a bed in the boiler room. She reached over, grabbed one of the larger blankets, that sat in a stack near by, and spread it out, letting it fall over herself, and the dragon. 

Haku, whom hadn't wanted to be woken up, after all, it wasn't even close to sunrise yet, opened one sleepy emerald eye, and peered at the girl, who was still trying to get comfortable. She finally settled for using his back as a pillow, and buried her face in his mane of green hair. With a rumbling sigh, Haku closed his eye, and drifted off to sleep, wondering if she would have used him as pillow in human form.

Kamaji didn't have the pleasure of sleeping until sunrise. There were customers to be served. _What I wouldn't do for a good fire spirit to work here... _He mentally grumbled, as he tried to get to sootballs to work again, without yelling at them, and waking the human and the dragon, _At least a fire spirit could keep the flames going, without even trying... _He sighed, and contiued to try and convey harsh language simply with hand gestures to get his helpers working, as they were too interested in playing with the tiny bird, whom had come to the boiler room with Sen, or, now that he had gone back to sleep, climbing on Haku, and playing with his hair, or pulling out a loose scale here and there. 

He finally decided a threat would work best on them, "Get back to work, or no food!" He only raised his voice a little bit.

The balls of soot quickly resumed their work, not wanting to be deprived of their meals, when Lin came.

Lin came early that morning, and without their breakfast. Hope was no lost for them however, for she had come to wake up the dragon and the girl, which meant she might come back again later with food!

The girl, and the dragon, who reverted back to his human form, were none to happy about being dragged out of bed, but they followed like to the elevator, anyway.

-------------------------

Chihiro and Haku stood before Zeniba, both still half asleep. Haku wondered if Chihiro wasn't fully asleep, as her eyes were closed, and she was swaying on her feet.He gave her a quick shove, to wake her up. She quickly straightened herself, and yawned widely.

She said something during the yawn that sounded like "hullo granny." But Haku wasn't quite sure, it was rather hard to understand. 

"Good morning, Chihiro," the old witch replied, to Haku she said, "It looks like you got your wish, Child. Are you pleased?"

Haku purposefully added a yawn himself, so that he had a perfect excuse for not answering, before Chihiro managed a slurred, "why you get us up so early?"

"I suppose Boh told you that there was something coming?" at the teenagers' nods, she continued, "Well, there is, I'm just not sure what. But, it's nothing good, I assure you. There have been a few employees complaining about dreams, in which they see everything burning. Have either of you had a dream like this?"

Both girl and boy nodded again.

"Hmmm... seems it's not only spirits then... But it may be due to your prolonged time here..." Zeniba muttered to herself, shooing away the buzzing bird, who had come with Chihiro.

"Are you sure that they mean something is coming?" Haku asked, and Zeniba nodded.

"Yes. There are a few other signs as well... If only I could figure out when, and with what...or who." 

-------------------------

Haku lay on his back, staring up at the clouds, as they rolled by. Chihiro was still with Zeniba, going over the conditions on which she was allowed to stay. Working was one of the conditions. Everyone in the bath house had a job, that included Chihiro. A dragonfly buzzed around his head for a moment, and perched on his nose, flicking its wings. Haku couldn't help but smile, however the movement startled the insect, and sent it back about it's business, of searching for a meal. A shadow blocked the sun, suddenly, and Haku squinted to see who was looking down at him. Chihiro.

"I didn't expect you to be released so soon."

"Why?" The girl asked, sitting beside him, "All she was doing was telling me that I had to help Lin in the evenings."

"Would you like me to give Lin a personality adjustment then?"

"No, she's fine as is," said Chihiro, laying back on the grass, "I'm free for now, at least."

The two stayed there, in silence, simply enjoying eachother's presence, until finally Chihiro's stomach made the fact that it was hungry known. So, they got up, to go find something for lunch. On their way to the bathhouse, they bumped into a tall, thin, and somewhat sickly looking boy, who seemed quite lost. At first Chihiro didn't see anything overly strange about him, until she saw his eyes. Slit pupiled firey orange eyes, lined in red. 

"Excuse me," he said, his voice was scratchy, as if his throat was too dry, and there was an amazing amount of heat emenating from him, "But could you tell me where might find the witch Zeniba?"

"She's in the bath house..." Haku answered uncertainly. _Fire spirit... _He thought, _why's he here? They're not known for their friendliness... _ "Follow us..." _Should I even be taking him up there? The fire from that dream... No. No reason to instantly shun him... He's just looking for Zeniba, that's all. Alot of spirits seek her out... _  
The walk back to the bathhouse was uncomfortably silent, as Chihiro wasn't quite sure what to say to the newcomer, and she was to busy trying to keep a safe distance from the heat to think about what to say. Haku was too lost in his own thoughts, and the fire spirit had nothing to say. His words were being reserved for the witch. 

-----------------------------

Slightly confused, Haku and Chihiro made their way down to the kitchens. They had left the fire spirit, whom had said his name was Ryu, with Zeniba, who had acted as if she recognized him. She had shooed the girl and the dragon out of the her office afterward. Neither of them complained, as they were both too concerned with getting to the kitchens for some lunch.

"Boo!" said Lin, popping out of nowhere, after they had persuaded one of the toads to let them get some food, making Chihiro jump. All Lin got from Haku was a glare that said if she tried it again, she was dead. "I saw you two leadin' someone up here that I didn't recognize... who was it?"

"Said his name was Ryu," Chihiro answered.

"And he's here to speak with Zeniba," said Haku, "He's a fire spirit."

"Well what would he be doing here then?" Lin wondered aloud, "They aren't known for being that social..."

"I just told you," Haku began, "He's here-"

"To speak to Zeniba, I know..." Lin stopped him, with a wave of her hand, "I'm not deaf... I meant why would he need to see Zeniba?"

Seeing that she wasn't going to be included in the conversation concerning why Ryu was there, Chihiro went outside, to eat. As she did so, a small, but regal looking cat wandered up, and decided to take a nap next to her. From the look of things, the cat was a siamese. It was also purring as loud as a motorboat engine. Chihiro couldn't resist, she reached over intending to stroke the cat's fur, when one of it's amber eyes snapped open, and a cool, collected, smooth-as-silk female voice said, "No petting, please... I worked a long time to get my fur in perfect condition."

"Oh!" said Chihiro, shocked. _I shouldn't be... there's walking sootballs, dragons, and human-sized frogs here... a talking cat is nothing. _"I'm sorry... I didn't realize..."

"It's alright," said the cat, "You're not a spirit, so you couldn't have read my mind..." There was an air of superiority around the cat, which was no surprise to Chihiro, as from her experience, all cats thought greatly of themselves, and considered themselves the highest ranking creature around. _Must be a god-complex left over from when they were worshipped... _"My name is Kei," the cat continued, "And I'm guessing you're Master Haku's human..."

Chihiro hid a smile behind one hand, thinking of how she had always thought of Haku as "her dragon". She hadn't thought anyone would turn it around on her. "Yes," the girl replied, in a dead-serious tone, "I'm Chihiro."

The cat got to her feet, and stretched, yawning. "Pleased to meet you then, Chihiro. And good luck."

"Good luck?" Chihiro asked, confused, "What do I need good luck for?"

But Kei was already walking away, twitching her tail in the air, "You'll see," she said, leaving Chihiro feeling as though she'd missed something.

"Why am I not surprised?" she asked herself, "'No cat anywhere, ever gave anyone a straight answer' " she quoted, thinking it fit the situation.

---------------------------

By sundown, Ryu was no longer in Zeniba's office. Instead, he was exploring the bathhouse, though he was having a hard time keeping out of the way, as this was the busiest time of the day. He saw the girl who had been with the dragon that morning, now dressed as all the other women there, as she prepared a bath. _Everyone works in this bathhouse... _He thought, watching her for a few moments. Of course, there was no work for him. Chances were he would get frustrated, and a frustrated or angry fire spirit wasn't something that anyone would want to be close too...

But it didn't matter, he wasn't here for work. He was here on another matter entirely.

Yubabba.

--------------------------

"You're still a klutz," Lin laughed, when Chihiro tripped over the small frog whose name she could never remember.

"Am not," Chihiro countered, "He tripped me."

"Not on purpose," the frog retorted, and hopped away, calling out, "You just need to watch where you're going..."

Grumbling, Chihiro gathered the bath tokens that she had dropped, and scattered everywhere. Still chuckling, Lin helped her. After they had gathered them all, and taken them back to the front of the bathhouse, they went about possibly the worst job in the place. Cleaning out the baths. _No..._Chihiro thought, as she scrubbed the walls, _That polluted river spirit was worse...Yech... _She remembered the feeling of the slime dripping onto her hands, and the stench coming from it. Even worse was having to walk through the sludge. But, she had helped that spirit in the end, so it had been worth it... Or so she kept telling herself, whenever she thought about it, and got chills. Once the bath was clean, Chihiro was thoroughly drained of the desire to do anything except go to the boiler room, and sleep for several days. She hadn't worked that hard for that long in a while. As she climbed out of the bath, a hand appeared in her vision, to help her out. She took the hand, intending to see who it was when she was on solid floor, though she thought she already had a pretty good idea who it was, and she was right.

"You're welcome," said Haku, before she had time to thank him, "Kei tells me you tried to pet her earlier. Never a good thing... What did you think of her?"

"I thought she was a typical cat," Chihiro answered, with a small laugh, "high and mighty. Though she seemed nice enough... She said soemthing strange though. She told me 'good luck' but she wouldn't say why..."

"Kei is often like that. She claims she's able to see the future from time to time... I'd be inclined to believe her, if she says you'll need luck."

"I just hate not knowing what she means. Cryptic messages have never been my favorite things."

"With Kei, you get alot of cryptic things. And Riddles. She's a fan of riddles."

"Hmmm, I wonder if I could trick her with 'If you've got it, you want to share it, but if you share it you haven't got it' " Chihiro wondered, with a smirk.

"I tried that already," said Lin, climbing, unaided from the bath, "And she answered right away. She's as good as sphinx."

"Who is?" said that same same cool, collected voice Chihiro had heard earlier. The three of them turned. Kei was sitting in the doorway, washing a paw. "You know, it's really not nice to talk about people when they're not around."

"As if you couldn't hear us," said Lin, flicking a bit of dirty water, from one of the buckets, at the creature. Kei puffed up, hissed, and growled at the woman, pupils going as thin as they possibly could. She looked for a moment as if she might assault Lin, but instead, she stalked off, fluffed-out tail stuck straight and stiff in the air. A low chuckled followed her, and Ryu stepped into veiw.

"Just a like a cat," he said in that dry-sounding voice of his. "I haven't met one yet that won't just walk away after a good dose of water... I don't think I properly introduced myself earlier. I'm Ryu."

"Lin," said Lin, with a wave.

"Kohaku," said Haku, with a half-bow.

"And you're Chihiro," Ryu said, before Chihiro could tell him her name. He came forward, and took her hand. His skin was exetremely hot to the touch. He brought her fingers to his lips, "Zeniba told me who you were when I asked. It's an honor to meet a lovely girl such as yourself."

Chihiro felt herself blush at his flattery, and blush even more when she saw Haku's jealous glare at the spirit. 

_Fire and Water... _She thought, later, as she and Haku went to the boiler room, _Just don't mix. _

Life here was going to get pretty interesting. That much she could tell.


	5. Fireflies

_Thanks for all the reviews!  
LM Queen: you said the name "Ryu" reminded you of someting you watch. I got the name from the anime Akira, same as I got the name Kei from it. Ryu and Kei were partners in that movie...   
Also, in case anyone else asks: RE and CSI: RE Resident Evil, Video game/movie series, and CSI Crime Scene Investigation. Perhaps the greatest show on TV!_

And just because I know it would make him feel good that people get to see this: The character Ryu is based off of a character from my RolePlay game, Ichro. Though Ichro is by no means anti-social. (but he does try to charm the ladies.) Unless it comes to Lin (who is always playing water pranks on him)

Now, this chapter is mainly pure fluffy goodness, in honor of the pure fluffy goodness going on in the game. (Haku and Chihiro being reunited, and sparks flying between Ichro, and another human girl, Sakura,)

So, please read, reveiw and enjoy!  


Chapter Five: FireFlies

Chihiro, unable to sleep, left the boiler room, around midnight, careful not to wake Haku, or Kamaji. She went up the long flight of stairs, to the small garden. She sat amongst several plants, listening to crickets chirp, and watching a swarm of fireflies. She closed her eyes, enjoying the cool night breeze, as opposed to the heat of the boiler room. She was remembering the conversation between herself and Haku, shortly before they had gone to sleep.

_"Hey, Haku, I saw the way you were looking at Ryu... You don't have to be jealous you know."_

"I wasn't..."

"Liar. I know a jealous look when I see one, and you had it written all over your face in neon signs..."

"Okay... so maybe I was... A little."

Chihiro laughed, "Whatever you say... But either way, there's no reason to be..."

"Why is that?"

Chihiro gave her reply so softly, she wondered if he would even be able to hear her, "Because, I only have eyes for you..."

He heard her alright, and they spent the next few moments in an uncomfortable silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. Haku was the last to speak, before sleep, "The same to you..."

She hadn't been able to sleep after that, and now, she was here, in the garden. The smell of the various plants, and flowers around her were soothing.

"I thought you might be here," said a voice from behind her. She already knew who it was.

"I thought I was quiet enough not to wake you..."

"You would have been, if I was asleep," said Haku, sitting next to her.

"Can't sleep either, huh?" The boy shook his head.

As seemed to be a pattern for them, they sat in silence. Maybe it was because no words were really needed between them. Maybe it was because they were simply content to be near one-another after so long apart. The fireflies danced around their heads, landing on them now and then. Chihiro caught one, and held it in her palm for a moment before letting it go again. She loved fireflies, and the way they were able to light up the night.

"Not a day has gone by," said Haku, in a hoarse whisper, "that I haven't thought of you, Chihiro..." Chihiro wasn't quite sure what to say, so she waited for him to say something else... "When I told you not to look back, it was for two reasons... One, because it may have kept you from going home, and two, because I didn't want you to see that I was trying to keep from showing how much I wanted you too stay..."

"Haku, I-"

"Just listen for a moment, I need to say this... I love you, Chihiro. I really do..."

"But?" she said, somewhat taken-aback, but she wanted to know what the unspoken "but" in that was...

"But you're human... and so young... "

"From what I understand, your age doesn't add up to more than mine, speaking in equivilants... And what difference does it make that I'm human?" Chihiro sighed, "I love you, Haku. And age, or race, isn't going to change that. Why do you think I came back, and why I wasn't happy at home?" She turned to face him, and found that he had the same idea. There was less than an inch between them. Again, Chihiro felt shivers running through her body. She acted on impulse, and closed the distance between them, bringing her lips to his, in a kiss that was long over-due. She could almost feel Haku's surprise, but she could also sense that he was more than just pleased with such contact. Chihiro herself felt any and all thoughts leave her mind, save for one: how truly happy she was that she was there.

When she pulled away, Haku met her eyes, and held her gaze for a moment, then twined his fingers in her hair, and pulled her towards him again, easing his mouth over her's, making her breath catch in her chest. The kiss deepened until Chihiro thought she might tip over from giddyness, and Haku himself was light-headed.  
Once they were fully separated, they once again settled into silence, but this time it was a contented silence.

"I hope I've rid your mind of the notions that you can convince me not to love you," Chihiro said finally.

"That was never my intention, silly child," said Haku, "I was simply making a point, but yes, you have. "

"Good."

--------------------------

A ways away from the pair, in the plants, and dark shaped moved, as silently as the shadows it hid in. _spying is such fun... _The figure thought, _I wonder if I should share this information, or not? It is a juicy little tidbit, but I don't think it's crucial... I think I'll keep it to myself for now. If a time comes when it's needed, I'll tell._

As quietly as it had come, the shape slipped into the bathhouse, leaving Haku and Chihiro none the wiser.

-------------------------

Lin was the one who got the job of finding the girl, and the dragon the next morning. Kamaji had forced her too. _It's not as if they're in any danger... They probably just got up early and went to spend some time alone or whatever. _Lin grumbled mentally.  
When she passed the garden however, she wondered why anyone had needed to find the two at all. It was kind of hard to miss a large white dragon sleeping in the garden, coiled up like a snake, with a human girl nestled in his center. It was so cute that Lin almost considered not bothering them, but then she remembered, she had been dragged out of bed early to find them, they were at least going wake up for it. She went, and nudged Haku with a foot, earning herself a look of deepest loathing, when he opened one eye to look at her.

"Get up, Scaly, it's after dawn."

He emitted a sound somewhere between a sigh, and a growl, and woke Chihiro. The girl was somewhat harder to get up than Haku was. Finally, Haku released a rumbling sigh, and returned to human for, ridding Chihiro of the body that was between her and the ground. She woke up rather quickly after that, and gave Lin the same look Haku had.

"Don't look at me like that!" Lin said, in a mock-offended tone, "He dropped you."

"Yeah," said Chihiro sleepily, "Bu' you're th' one who got 'im up..." Appearently the girl didn't speak properly when first woken up.

They argued for a few moments about whose fault Chihiro's now bruised rear was, until it eventually turned into simply joking, and making playful jabs at one another.

-----------------------

The rest of the day that Chihiro had free was spent with Haku. Just simple things really. A walk through the entire bathhouse, a trip to the stone stair case, to look at the island, across the water, enjoying lunch on the bridge, watching the train go by. All ordinary things. It was the looks they traded, and the breif touches that made it an out of the ordinary day for Chihiro and Haku.

As the sun set, and Haku brought his lips to hers, telling her he would see her after her tasks were done, Chihiro forgot for a moment about the fact that there was something about to happen. For a moment, everything was perfect.

----------------------

The same dark figure watched, from the shadow of the bridge. It waited a moment, then slunk away, knowing it wouldn't be seen or heard. 

----------------------

Ryu had agreed to take a job at the bathhouse, at Zeniba's insistance, and found himself working with Chihiro, of all people. Tonight, they were working on the dining room floor, before dinner time. They had to work fast. Lin, the rather rude woman who had flicked water at Kei was there as well, complaining.

"Chihiro... I think Zeniba gives us the hard ones on purpose... This room is huge..."

"Shut up and keep working, Lin," Chihiro answered, "Faster we get this done the faster-"

"You can go back to Haku?" Lin interupted cheerfully, enjoying Chihiro's blush.

Ryu enjoyed Listening to their banter, it was funny to listen too. It was obvious that the women were friends, but they argued almost constantly. Normally, it was Lin that started it, but every now and then, Chihiro got first swing. Having something to entertain him made work go alot faster for Ryu.  
He didn't say much, to the women, though. Even though he may not have been as hostile as some of his brethren, he still wasn't the most comfortable around other people, nor did he have any desire to be. _Unless, _he thought with a mischevious grin, _Unless I can make that drgon jealous... That is always fun. _  
He had rather enjoyed last nights breif uncomfortable moment, when he had been flirting with Chihiro. He knew dragons hated a rival, when it came to a mate, though he would have thought that Haku, still being a fairly young one wouldn't be quite so edgy... He'd been wrong.

However, tonight was not a night to be trying to make rivals out of a dragon. Tonight he had something to do. As soon as the floor was polished, he excused him self and went out to the garden, looking for something... or someone. 

"Okay," he hissed to the darkness, "I'm here... Who are you, and why did you want me here?"

"Because," said a calm, smooth female voice that he thought he recognized, "I think we're here for the same reason... And I think that I can be of some use to you."

A shadow moved, and Ryu looked around, hoping to glimpse the speaker. He did. She was sitting in plain sight. However, her identity shocked him. "You!"

---------------------------

"Shoo, cat!" said Lin, to Kei, as the cat entered the bathhouse, "We know you're not coming to bother us about a bath..." she grinned devilishly, "Or are you... I could get a nice big bath ready for you...A creature of your noble bulk nee-"

Chihiro clapped a hand over Lin's mouth, to stop her from continueing. "Hello Kei," she said, with a nod at the cat.

"Hello to you, as well, Chihiro, and Lin," there was a hint of malice in her voice, as she said Lin's name. Chihiro wondered if Lin didn't get on the nerves of everyone there. "I have a message from Haku, Chihiro. He says to meet him at the bridge when all your work is done..." The cat hopped nimbly up on the table at which Lin and Chihiro were sitting, for their break. She narrowed her gold-amber eyes for a second and then added, "I think you're in for a romantic night."

"Is that a vision or was it so obvious that you didn't need one?" Lin asked dryly.

"Both," the cat replied haughtily, and stalked off, tail twitching in an annoyed way.

"I'm going to drop her in the water below the bridge one day..." Lin grumbled, and Chihiro laughed, "Well I am...Haven't liked her since she showed up. She kinda appeared, in the same way Ryu did. Just out of nowhere. Kinda strange, really."

"I'm going to laugh when Kei is the one to put YOU under the bridge," said Chihiro, "and I thought strange was normal around here."

"Good point," said Lin, choosing to ignore the first part. She raised her voice a bit for the next part, "Hey, Ryu! come over here!"

Ryu, whom had been talking to one of the toads, looked in Lin's direction, and came to join the women at the table. "Yes Lin?"

"Just wanted to know how you got here, is all," Lin replied sweetly. 

"Ah," said Ryu, "Well, I would happily tell you lovely ladies, but one such as myself needs to keep an air of mystery about himself, does he not?"

Both women laughed, and nodded.

----------------------------

Zeniba sighed, wondering what to do next... She knew something was wrong, that something wasn't right, but she couldn't place where the feeling was coming from. The logical explanation was Ryu... But the feeling had been there before Ryu had shown up, and that bothered her.

"Uh... uh..." said No-Face, clearly wanting to know what was wrong. 

"I just can't figure out who is causing the unease, No-Face. "

"Uh..." said the soul, trying to comfort her.

Zeniba had the nagging feeling that no amount of comfort would help, soon.

She just hoped that things weren't as bad as they seemed.

------------------------------


	6. The trouble begins

_This is a shorter chap than the rest, I know, and I'm sorry, but I couln't think of anything to finish it off with, other than what it already ends with._

thank you for all the great reviews!

Chapter Six: The Trouble Begins

Haku sat waiting at the bridge. Chihiro's work should have been done by then, unless something had slowed her down. He was about ready to go and look for her, when he caught sight of her, heading for him. He saw now why she had taken so long. She was dressed in a yellow kimono, adorned in variously colored flowers, a lime green obi was tied around her waist. She had her long hair pulled away from her face, but still allowed it to flow down her back. Chihiro blushed, as he stared.

"Lin helped me find these..." she explained.

"I'm glad," he replied. And indeed he was.

"To what might I owe the invitation, by the way?"

"Well, since it's so crowded inside, yet Zeniba has some rather lively music playing, I thought I might have the pleasure of a dance, with a beautiful girl."

"Uh-huh..." she said, stepping closer to him, "And who is this beautiful girl?"

"She's tall, with brown hair, wonderful eyes, and someone I love," Haku replied playfully.

"Such compliments you give her. I'm sure she'd be pleased," Chihiro said, with a smile, inching closer.

"I would hope so. It would be a shame, if she wasn't," said Haku, leaning down, to kiss her.

Chihiro smiled, as she kissed him back. They were interupted however, when someone from the bathhouse screamed. Both of them turned in the direction of the bathhouse to see the yellow-orange glow of a fire, on the upper levels, while smoke poured from one window.

----------------------

Lin sighed, in relief. Thankfully, the fire had been put out quickly, and no one had gotten more than a few singed hairs, or in Kei's case, a singed tail. Where the fire had come from, no one knew. All they knew was that Kei had come tearing down the stairs like a bat out of hell, with her tail smoking, yowling about a fire. There was only one being in the place who could cause spontaneous fires, and he had been with Lin, before, after and during the incident. Kei, like a typical cat, wouldn't give anyone a straight answer about where the fire had come from, or if there had been anything in the room that could have caused it.

Though, Lin had to admit, it had been funny, watching the cat run around, acting like a few burned hairs was the end of the world. Even more amusing was the look of disappointment on both Haku and Chihiro's faces. She was sure the fire had interupted any plans they had for that night. Underneath the disappointment though, she saw hints of fear, as if they had been dreading something like this would happen. It rather confused Lin, and if there was one thing she hated, it was to be confused. She would have to track the two down again later, and ask them what was wrong. _I might know already, if I hadn't left, when Zeniba spoke to them... _She complained to herself, as she picked up burnt bits of blanket and pillow. _She was probably telling them about whatever danger she said she senses coming... But this was just a tiny fire... How could this have anything to do with what Zeniba senses? _

Shaking her head, Lin continued to help with clean up. Something wasn't right.

----------------------

Zeniba paced back and forth in her office, ignoring the bird that buzzed around her head, even ignoring No-Face's questioning "Uh?"s... She didn't know what to say. She couldn't shake the feeling that the fire earlier had something to do with whatever her sister was planning. She knew it was Yubabba. That much had been certain from the beginning. Lin had told her it had just been a small fire, most likely and accident, since Kei hadn't said anything about anyone strange being in the room... _As if that cat would tell anyone anyway. She'd most likely keep it a secret, all because she felt we needed to find out on our own... One reason I never have liked cats... _

"You requested to see me, Ma'am?" said a dry, crackling voice, from the door.

"Yes, yes I did, Ryu."

"Mistress Zeniba, is this about the fire? I'll admit, I've been known to lose control every now and then, but this wasn't one of those times..."

"I never said it was Ryu. I was going to as if you know any way it could have started on its own, without your help of course."

"I just create it and control it," said Ryu, with a bow, "I am no expert on ways it can start for no appearent reason, unless a fire spirit does it..."

Zeniba sighed, "Very well, thank you, Ryu."

"You might ask Kei some more questions though..." he added as he left... "She was the only one in the room when it started..."

---------------------------

Kei wasn't happy. That little brat of a pyro had ended up getting her questioned, and that was not a good thing. To show her displeasure with him, she waited, hiding under a chair, to ambush him, much like her mortal counter-parts. Although unlike most housecats, she wasn't playing. As soon as he was in range, she let out a yowl, and procceeded to tear his legs to shreds. She peeled herself off of him, before he was able to use any flames on her, and ran for an empty part of the bathhouse, leaving Ryu to tend to the bites and scratches.

She wished she had been able to do more, but being a cat had it's disadvantages. Size for one thing, and use of better weapons than claws and teeth. Though generally she had no need for weapons at all, as she was most often a calm, cool being, who preffered to sit on the sidelines than join in on a fray, but Ryu had thrown suspicion at her for the fire, and that just wouldn't do. At least she had gotten the message to him, or so she hoped.  
Of course, Kei realized that going for Ryu made her seem all the more suspicious. She could find a way to smooth things over, like she always did. She was a cat after all, and cats were resourceful, and stubborn. And for now... She had other business to take care of, that had to be done now.

-----------------

Chihiro didn't sleep well that night. Her dreams were plagued again, by the images of fire, and dying spirits. This time though, she wasn't just trying to save her friends, she was watching herself try. The other her struggled to get to an injured Lin, and Haku, but she couldn't make it.  
Then, there were two tall shadows in the flames, one taller than the other. A familiar voice echoed through her mind, "I told you, you would need good luck, child." There was a hint pf manic joy in the voice, that made her shiver. She tried to see who the two people in the fire were, but she couldn't make them out properly. Screams of pain, made her stop trying to see. Her friends were all dead, or dying now, and there was nothing she could do to help.

Haku didn't sleep at all. One, because every time he shut his eyes, he saw a similiar scene to what Chihiro was seeing, and two, Chihiro's tossing and turning made it impossible to sleep anyway. Her dreams must have gotten exetremely bad, for she was now thrashing around, muttering something, and as she shook her head, Haku felt tears land on him. In an attempt to calm her, he took the distraught girl in his arms, and held her still, muttering into her ear that everything would be alright. It took several minutes, but she eventually calmed down, handfulls of the fabric of Haku's clothes clenched in her fists, and face buried against his chest. Haku didn't let go of her at all for the rest of the night.

----------------------------

Ryu winced, as he drug himself out of bed. His legs still hurt, because the damn cat had assaulted him. It was a clear enough message: don't pass the blame to Kei... Easy enough, when you weren't about to be blamed for the fire. If he had been, he would have almost certainly been thrown from the bathhouse, most likely by the dragon, and that wasn't part of what he was here to have done... No... No there was plenty to come between then, and the time he was thrown out, which he was sure he would be eventually, though not before it was too late.

"Good morning, Ryu," said the voice of his new partner.

"Must you do that, woman? Where are you?"

"In the shadows, as always."

"I'd get up and find you, but as you can see my legs aren't in the best condition, no thanks to you. Why are you hiding, anyway, I already know who you are."

There was a cold laugh, "You deserved what you got. You shouldn't have tried to pass the blame on a cat. And I prefer hiding. It's more fun."

"I wouldn't have had to pass the blame on anyone, if you hadn't started the fire in the first place. That's why you told me to stay with Lin all evening, isn't it?"

"Of course. We couldn't have them being to sure about who they blamed, now could we? I want doubt to get into their minds, until they no longer know who to trust. Creating chaos, Ryu, is an art. And I have mastered it in my many years. Oh, and don't bother trying to report to Yubabba... She's... Not giving you orders any longer."

"What? What did you do?"

"Let's just say the chain of command has changed a bit... I'm in charge now. I'll see you again tonight... Oh... and continue flirting with that human girl... Maybe you can make the dragon jealous enough that he won't be suspicious of us... or me, anyway, until it's too late..."

Ryu didn't bother to answer. He knew she was already gone.

He stumbled down to the first floor, and groaned. Figures that he would run into Chihiro and Haku first thing. Maybe she had known he would.

"Morning, Ryu," Chihiro grumbled. She didn't appear to be in a very good mood. Haku only gave the fire spirit a quick nod.

"Good morning," Ryu replied, "You're looking beautiful today." That wasn't a lie at least. It seemed Lin had found more than one kimono for her, as today, she was dressed in a red, and black one, and black obi. What he recognized as a shukusen; a steel ribbed fan, with sharpened points, was tucked in the obi. Her hair, as it always was, was tied back away from her face. He took her hand, as he had the night he met her, and kissed her fingers. He could almost feel holes buring into his head from the glare Haku gave him.

_At least this is fun... _He thought, _I just hope I don't get eaten before all this is over. _

Seeing her escort's glare, Chihiro made some excuse to continue on their way. As they walked, the voice of his partner sounded in Ryu's head, _You'll have to separate them at some point, so they can be taken care of individually. _

Ahhhh! How did you get in my head!? Ryu demanded, trying to hide the fact that she had frightened him.

_It's not that hard, Ryu. And did you hear what I said about splitting them up?_

I don't see how. They're practically glued together, except for when she's working... But even then, he's always close by. While they're sleeping isn't an option either...

Just figure something out. And it doesn't have to be to where neither knows the other is missing. It wouldn't stay like that for long anyway. After a certain amount of distance, they can talk, just as we are now.

Oh great. You could have mentioned that before...

I didn't know that until just a few moments ago, insolent boy. I overheard Zeniba discussing it with someone...

Grumbling, Ryu deliberately rid his mind of any thoughts, and went about the daily chores Zeniba had given him...

--------------------------

"You really shouldn't let him get to you..."

Haku only heard the last part of Chihiro's monologue, and was glad of it, it had seemed to be rather longwinded. So many words, that only told him one thing. Don't be jealous. He had been too deep in thought to really listen, until the last sentence. Thinking about the fire the previous night. The banging that was now constantly ringing throughout the bathhouse was a clear reminder that it hadn't been a dream, to all who had been hoping it was. Both he and Chihiro had already mastered the art of blocking out the sound. Others weren't so lucky, and complaints were frequently voiced, and random threats were made. Generally about catching whoever had started the fire, and hanging them up by their thumbs somewhere, simply as punishment for the torture they were going through now.

Although, odds were, the fire starter was still there, and was just as annoyed by the repairs as everyone else.

Haku had his own ideas about the arsonist. As much as he wanted to blame Ryu, (_Maybe Chihiro's right... I do let him get to me... But he shouldn't flirt like that..._), that didn't seem right. It seemed... too easy. There was something a bit more sinister at work here, of that he was sure... And it had Yubabba written all over it. 

"I never said thanks, you know," Chihiro spoke again, pulling the dragon from his thoughts.

"Huh? For what?"

"For helping me, last night... I wasn't sleeping too well. Nightmares. But they stopped, after awhile... And when I woke up, you were holding me..."

"That doesn't mean I stopped the nightmares..." Haku replied, somewhat shyly.

"I think you did... and again, thanks. I may not have gotten much good sleep, but some is better than none."

--------------------------


	7. The Difference Is

_Happy thanksgiving everyone. Hope you all had a great holiday. _

Chapter Seven: The Difference Is...

Kei was different. That much every spirit could tell. Though she wasn't jumpy, or twitchy, like they would have expected her to be. No. In the few days after the fire, she was all the more haughty, and proud, as if she had acheived some great goal, that no one else knew about. It certainly wasn't making her anymore pleasant to be around. And she would every so often yowl, or growl at people who got within five feet of her. She was also ignoring her task of keeping the place vermin free, and more than once the head cook saw a mouse that would have normally been dead almost as soon as it showed its self. He voiced his complaints to the cat rather loudly, so that everyone on that floor was able to hear the fact she had been slacking recently.   
Kei however, didn't seem to see anything wrong with her behavior.

Lin felt it was time to put the cat back in her place, so as she was walking by the table on which the siamese had perched herself, she reached out and grabbed her by the scruff, in such a way that she wouldn't be able to turn and claw any part of Lin's body.

"Hey, let go!" the cat demanded, trying to wiggle out of the spirit's grip. "You're ruining two good hours of washing."

Lin ignored the creature, and held on to her, as she walked towards the front of the bathhouse, only making the cat struggle all the harder. Lin carefully aimed, and tossed the cat out the front door, "If you don't work, you don't have a place here," she said matter-of-factly, though it gave her great pleasure to toss the cat in the dirt. "And you haven't been doing your job." Lin dramatically dusted off her hands, turned on her heel, and went back to her daily chores. She felt she had done rather well.

Until Kei came back to get her revenge.

Like a typical cat, she was choosing the most inopprotune moments to be under people's feet, or getting hair on freshly cleaned clothes, bedding, and other fabrics, and in general driving everyone insane. This wasn't the first time she had done something like this. There had been a few other times, like when Boh had stepped on her tail. She had made life hell for everyone because of that, or when one of Lin's friends had accidentally dumped a bucket of filthy water on her. Some of the spirits insisted that she had a split personality, and when someone spited her was when it showed. Lin just thought the creature was psychotic, and wanted an excuse to show it.

----------------------------

Chihiro didn't hear Lin calling for her... or rather, she blocked it out. She didn't want to hear anything right then, other than the frantic beating of her own heart. She was pretty sure it was skipping a beat every now and then, as Haku kissed his way up from her neck, to her lips. His hands had already removed her obi, with her help, and her kimono had started slipping down her shoulders. _slipped? Who am I kidding... that was on purpose... _And Haku was unclothed from the waist up.  
Her kimono ended up peeled away from her skin (_Ended up? Ha! I know exactly how that happened... ) _, and all thoughts had disappeared from both of their minds-

"There you are!" someone shouted from the doorway, "I've been looking all o- AHHHH! I did not need to see this! GOD! I'm going to have nightmares now!"

Chihiro scrambled to situate her clothes, before Lin could complain further... but it didn't stop her. "I should have known you two would...But really... right before work? And where anyone could walk in on you!?"

"Not anybody... " Haku replied, seemingly amused, "Just someone so nosy that they'll pick a lock to find out what's on the other side."

Lin crossed her arms, "I did no such thing!"

"Then why is it you were able to open the locked door?" Chihiro grumbled.

"Just get dressed," Lin muttered, "We've got alot of work to do tonight, and that damn furball isn't making things any easier."

----------------------

Lin hadn't been kidding Kei certainly wasn't making things easier for people.

"How're your legs doing?" Chihiro asked Ryu, as they worked, "I hear the cat tore you up pretty good the other day..."

The fire spirit nodded, "Yeah... It's nothing, I'm fine now. I'm just..."

"Just?"

"I've just got alot on my mind right now..."

That certainly wasn't a lie... He had way too much on his mind... Like how was he supposed to do what his partner wanted, and what he'd been ordered to do, when he found he genuinely liked Chihiro? Or how was he even supposed to get her alone in the first place... _I'll get you back for all this... _He thought, hoping she might hear him. If she did, she chose not to answer, which wasn't uncommon. Her plan for suspicion and doubt had worked at least. Everyone was on edge, and sporting quick tempers, more than once, Ryu heard the shouts of a chef, as he scolded, or accused an apprentice. Even the young girls, who helped clean floors, and baths were snappy.

He noticed as well that friends who were generally inseperable were in fights, and avoided eachother... Maybe her plan had worked too well.

-----------------------

Zeniba was about ready to pull her own hair our by the roots.

She knew what was going to happen.

She knew why it was going to happen.

But she didn't know when.

And she didn't know who.

Or how.

No-Face, generally one to try an cheer her up, was simply staying across the room from her, brooding as well. There were times Zeniba wished he could speak properly, since she was sure he knew more than she did, whjat with his constant nightly wanderings. Perhaps he had overheard something, and that was what accounted for his dark mood, but there was no way to get him to tell. Ever since Chihiro had stopped his rampage in the bathhouse on her first visit, he hadn't spoken again. It was strange that he hadn't gone crazy again, when Zeniba had brought him back. Maybe it had been something about her sister's presence that made him insane... Either way, it didn't matter. He couldn't speak, to tell her what was wrong, and nothing was going to change that.

"Auntie Zeniba?" said Boh, creating a tremedous thud as he sat down, "Is everything alright?"

"No it's not, Boh," Zeniba replied, "No it's not."

------------------------

No-face did indeed know what was going on, he had heard them, talking... Ryu, and that woman, who changed forms. He knew the whole plan, and there was no way to tell Zeniba of it, or Sen, or even the dragon, who seemed to understand what he was trying to say better than most.

He moved, silent as a shadow, out the door and down the corridor, to try and listen in on the next conversation... The two met every night. Maybe he would hear something that he could get across to someone.

----------------------

"I don't see why it has to be those two," Ryu argued, "wouldn't three normal spirits suffice?"

"Yes, but that's no fun... Come on, Ryu, you gotta admit, the girl and that dragon will be much more fun to catch... Besides, sucking the life out of them will be all the more rewarding. As for the other one, Lin, I just want to enjoy sucking every ounce of life and power from her as I can. I never liked her much..."

"She isn't that fond of you, either," Ryu muttered, "Neither am I, for that matter."

"Then why are you still here, sparky?"

"Don't call me that... And I don't really have much of a choice, do I?"

"Well, you do, if you think about it... Help me, or die. That's a simple enough choice, I think."

"I prefered this when I was getting paid, and the girl and the dragon weren't involved."

"Oh come now, Ryu, they always were involved. Yubabba just didn't want you to kill them. She wanted the bathhouse destroyed. But I want them all dead... "

"Why?"

"I thought that much would be obvious... Power. The more of them that die, the more power I'll gain. Simple. There are just a few I want to enjoy killing on my own... After you've captured them for me."

"You expect me to be a match for the dragon?" Ryu scoffed.

"Not in a fair fight," said his partner, with malicious amusement, "But cheating, yes. Sneak up on him, boy! Set a trap, something! Just don't play fair!"

Ryu sighed, "Do your own dirty work, woman."

"Do you want me to tell everyone that I saw you start that fire? Or maybe I should hurt someone first, then tell them it was you... I can bet that Zeniba would believe me over you anyway. And if you hurt someone... say, Chihiro, I can assure you that you wouldn't even have time to register what had happened before you were lying on the ground in several peices... Dragons can be very violent..."

Clearing his throat, nervously, Ryu answered, "Fine... But don't expect me to help kill them..."

"Oh I don't... I want them to myself, Ryu. I want them all to myself..."

"So what's the difference? Between me killing them, and you taking their power or spirit, or whatever it is you'll do, and you killing them, and doing the thing with the power?"

"The difference is fun... It's not as fun if I don't get to do it myself... Besides, they'll die anyway, after a good draining. IF I only wanted to drain power... I'm aiming for life... Feels better. For me anyway."

Ryu shook his head, "power-hungry bitch," he mumbled as she left.

"I heard that," she said, as she changed form, "Sweet dreams, Ryu..."

Ryu somehow doubted his dreams would be sweet.

---------------------

Lin woke in the middle of the night, seeing a small shadow, slinking through the room. She got up, as silently as possible, and followed the shadow. It cornered its self, and Lin pounced.

"HA! got ya, you little-" she stopped, seeing what she was holding up, "Wha-" she didn't get any more out before she heard a few words spoken, and she was sent into darkness.

---------------------

The next morning, Lin was nowhere to be found. Chihiro searched all over for her, with the help Boh, No-Face, Haku, and the bird. She didn't turn up, anywhere. When asked, Kei simply said she hadn't seen her since the day before. And Ryu had somewhat guiltily said that he hadn't seen her either.

While they continued to search, Ryu paced back and forth in his room... Had his partner had something to do with Lin's disappearence? Had she done something to her? It was supposed to be up to him to get Lin, Chihiro and Haku... Wait... wasn't this better? Then he didn't have the guilt from trapping Lin weighing down on him. _I just have the guilt of knowing what happened to her weighing me down... Not that I have much choice... I really do like living. But who's to say that she'll kill me? She could be bluffing.. That would be typical for someone... no, something, like her. Then, do I really want to take that chance? I'm sorry Lin, and Chihiro, but I really have no choice._

He could only hope that something would go wrong, and everyone would get away.

---------------------

Haku didn't like the current way things were going. It smelled like a trap to him, or a distraction. And he was usually right about such things.

He voiced his worries to Chihiro, and Boh, and they both agreed that Lin's disappearence was either a trap or a distraction.

But that didin't change the fact that she had to be found, and soon. Before anything worse could happen to her.

-------------------

Lin woke to comeplete darkness. She could make out vague shapes, but nothing more.

"Hello?" she called, "Is anyone here?"

She got no answer.

"HELLO!" The echo was all that came back to her. She tried to move, and found that she was tied to something, that kept her from going more that a few feet. "Well, isn't this just perfect?" she muttered to herself, "I'll kill her... I'll kill her very very dead, and leave her for the bugs..."

Though how she was going to carry out that threat on her captor, Lin wasn't quite sure. She just hoped she figured out how, and fast.

---------------------

_I imagine it's kinda obvious who Ryu's partner is... but still, for the sake of suspense, I won't say nothin this chap :p_


	8. The Trap is Sprung

_Not sure wether to be happy with this one or not... You decide... Review please!_

Chapter Eight: The Trap is sprung

Chihiro happened upon the trap door by accident. She tripped over a rug, while looking over her shoulder, and revealed a small door. Curious, she knelt to open it. She had expected it to be locked, but it opened easily, with a quiet sqeak. A foul smell wafted up from the hole, that was so strong, Chihiro wondered how she hadn't noticed it before opening the door. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but she certainly didn't think it was anything good. She thought about just closing the door, and going to Zeniba about it when she heard a faint yell come from somewhere in the darkness. She thought for a moment it was her imagination, until she heard it again.

Although she couldn't make out what it was saying, she had a pretty good idea of who it was.

Gathering her courage, she started to climb down into the hole. She heard footsteps behind her, and a breif wave of heat, before soemthing collided with her head, her mind went blank, and she descended into darkness.

-----------------

First Lin, now Chihiro, and Ryu... Haku hated to admit it but he was scared. Scared for Chihiro, scared for Lin. Things were starting to get crazy in the bathhouse, random fights breaking out, everyone in foul moods... If he hadn't known any better, Haku would have thought there was a bit of magic at work here... Or maybe there was... One day everything was fine, the next, people were going insane... That seemed like a spell at work to him. And worse, he couldn't seem to contact Chihiro, mentally. Which meant she wasn't awake, wherever she was...

"Hey Haku?" said Boh, "Have you seen Kei? She isn't around anywhere..."

"Kei too? What is going on here?"

-----------------

"So, you're here too, huh?" said a voice nearby, waking Chihiro. "Hey, dope, wake up."

Chihiro opened her eyes, and found that she couldn't see much better than she had with them shut. "Lin?"

"Yeah, it's me. You alright?"

"I've been better. You?"

"Same... Could be worse."

"How?"

"We could be dead."

"Good point."  
Chihiro tried to get up, and move, and found she was chained to the floor. The smell of smoke was drifting down from above. "Lin... Do you smell that?"

"Yeah, been there for about an hour now... Wonder where it's coming from..."

"The Bathhouse!"

"Wha? How do you know?"

"This place is underneath the bathhouse... There's a fire up there!"

Both women sat in silence for a long time, both growing more and more worried as the smell of smoke, and burning wood got stronger. _At least the floor of the bathhouse is stone... Won't have to worry about burning wood falling on us... Though heavy stones might be worse... _It was at least an hour later, when footsteps echoed from what Chihiro assumed was the direction of the door. She could make out the faint outlines of two people. The shorter one was carrying something. It threw the something in her direction. A dull thud, and a groan, made Chihiro look. Haku lay in front of her, unconcious.

Fire balls came from nowhere, and zoomed around, lighting torches on their way.

There was only one person standing in the door way. Both Lin and Chihiro were shocked to see who it was."

"Ryu!"

"I'm sorry..." he said, hanging his head... I didn't want it to go this far, but..."

Chihiro tried to wake Haku, while listening to him, until she saw a small furry being reveal its self from behind Ryu's legs.

"Kei..." Lin said, as if she weren't surprised.

"KEI!" said Chihiro. She was shocked, "What're you doing?"

"I should think that would be obvious," said the cat, "I'm helping Ryu... or rather, he's helping me..." The cat began to change form, and grow larger, until finally, standing beside Ryu was a tall, tan-skinned, beautiful woman, with ravens-wing black hair. She wore a kimono that matched the colors of her coat, when in cat-form. Her hands sported unnaturally long claws, and her eyes had kept the same amber-gold color as when she had been a cat. "Oh and, I'm not a cat..."

"You wench!" Lin said to Kei, "We trusted you!"

"Correction, Lin... They," she pointed at Chihiro, and a still unconcious Haku, "Trusted me... you hated me." She looked at Chihiro, "I told you, you would need good luck, girl... Looks as though I was right."

"Why are you doing this? And Ryu, why are you helping?" Chihiro demanded, pulling Haku's limp form to her chest, holding on to him tightly.

"Why? Why?" Kei scoffed, "My dear girl, for power of course. You see, I collect the powers, and souls of anyone who dies around me... or anyone I kill... As for Ryu, he has no choice. He can help me, or I slice his throat before he knows what's happened."

Ryu grimaced, and looked at the floor as the woman said this, looking ashamed. "The bathhouse is gone..." he muttered, "Most everyone is dead..."

His words hit Chihiro like a kick in the gut. "Everyone?" she said in disblief, as Lin just stared. Ryu nodded. Kei laughed, coldly. "and I have every ounce of power, and life from them all. This has been fun, dears, but it's time to end this, I think... What do you say, Ryu? Take the dragon while he's unconcious, or wait till he can at least give me some challenge?"

"No!" Chihiro shouted, her cry echoing throughout the chamber, "Please, don't..."

"Chihiro," Lin warned, "Don't..."

"Shut up, Lin.." said Kei, "Let's hear the child's pleas."

----------------------------------

Haku had been pacing, back and forth, trying to get some kind of connection with Chihiro, when Ryu had shown up. "Ryu? What're you doing here? Where's Chihiro?"

"She's... somewhere else..." Ryu had replied, making a ball of fire, appear in his hands. He lazily tossed it in the corner, igniting the wall, and the drapes.

"The hell? Ryu what're you doing?" Haku had demanded, in shock, and outrage, but Ryu had continued throwing fire, until there was no longer a way out of the room.

"Sorry about this, Haku... But it's you or me... "

Haku had tried to escape, but due to the fire, it was somewhat of a cramped space. Not needing to worry about being burned, Ryu had the advantage, and he used it. A few well placed punches had put the young dragon out cold.

-------------------

Ryu was trying as hard as he could not to look at the two captive women, and the dragon. His deal with Yubabba had been get in, create a little chaos, by way of a few fires, then leave, and she would deal with the larger things. He got his payment, and went on his way, without these peoples' deaths on his conciense. But he'd ended up liking them. He still could have done his job, even after that... Until Kei came along, and ruined everything. Everything had been fine, until she had found out who he was, and that he was there on Yubabba's orders as well.  
Her position had been as a spy, which was easy for her to do, considering her ability to take the form of a cat, that could slip in and out of places without ever being seen or heard.

And now the woman was talking of emotionally torturing a young girl, simply for amusement's sake. He was shaking with rage, by this point, his fists clenched, and flames apearing, dancing around his hands for breif seconds at a time. Kei had used him, to further her own lust for power, and had threatened him. She wasn't getting on his good side, and while it wasn't something he was proud of, he did have the power to roast her, if her back was turned, and she couldn't defend herself... Once the fire was set, there was no putting it out...

"Don't kill him, please!" Chihiro was pleading with Kei... Ryu could have told her it would do no good. Kei didn't know the meaning of mercy.

"Why shouldn't I, girl?" Kei asked, as if it were a normal question, and someone's life wasn't being threatened.

"Do you not even care about what you've done?" Lin spat, though she looked as if she knew the answer would be...

"No."

"Kei, maybe you should just-" Ryu began, but Kei spun, and back-handed him, sending him back a ways, "Silence boy!"

Ryu rubbed his jaw, and heat began building up in the air around him. Kei had successfully pissed him off. "That's it..." he muttered, so she couldn't hear him, "You've asked for it, bitch."

He straightened, hands bursting into flames. He needed a distraction. Something for Kei's attention to focus on for more than a moment... Just so he could get one good punch in, and then he would fry her.

He got his distraction. Kei got close enough to Chihiro, to grab Haku, and the girl lept at her. Ryu made his move, aiming for Kei's back.

-----------------------

Chihiro had seen Kei moving towards her, and acted before she even knew what she was doing. As the woman grabbed Haku, Chihiro lept at her. She saw a flash of orange, somewhere behind Kei, and realized it was Ryu. Thinking he was coming to aid Kei, she shoved the woman back, and she heard Ryu swear. Kei heard it too, and in one swift movement, she had pulled a tan shukusen from her obi, snapped it open, and spun around. Chihiro winced, at the sound of blades slicing through flesh. As Kei comepleted her turn, a circle of blood sprayed from her shukusen. The blood struck Chihiro, making her flinch.

Ryu stood, gasping, and choking, as blood poured from a deep cut in his chest, and pooled at his feet. The flames that had covered his hands moments ago, disappeared, as he dropped to the ground. Kei began to laugh, hysterically, and Chihiro realized what she had done.

Laughing even louder, Kei looked at Chihiro, "Thank you Child... You've just rid me of my biggest threat... And aided in your own death..."

Chihiro backed against the wall, pulling Haku with her, as Lin began to shout at Kei.

_We're going to die... We're going to die... _She screamed in her head, clutching Haku.

_We're not going to die... _A voice replied, _We'll be fine..._

It took a moment for her to realize it was Haku, but before she could reply to him, she noticed movement from Ryu... He was alive! He ignited his hand once again, and slowly reached for the edge of Kei's kimono... Just a little bit farther.

Just one more inch, and he could have her.

That one little inch.


	9. You're Going Down With Me

_I am REALLY REALLY sorry that this took so long, but the ending of a story is always the hardest to do, and this is indeed the ending chapter, also, things have gotten hectic in my RP game (We're gettin into the serious business now... Soon as Lin can get Chihiro (me) and Haku out of bed... seems hittin them pillows didn't quite work) and, we recently had snowfall here, and It's been a LONG time since I seen that much snow, so of course, I was out enjoying it as much as I could... Anyway, on with the final chapter ... I hope you enjoy it._

Chapter Nine: You're Going Down With Me

Chihiro tore here eyes away from Ryu, when she felt the chain around her ankle fall away. She saw Lin's surprised look, and realized that the older woman must've been free as well. She looked down at Haku, whose eyes were still closed, but she knew he was awake, because he wore a smirk. A screech drew her attenion back to Ryu and Kei. Ryu had hold of a large handful of Kei's kimono, that was quickly begining to burn. Kei yanked away from Ryu, and tried to stop the flames, but they spread faster than they should have naturually. It seemed Ryu was helping them along.

In an instant Haku was on his feet, and pulling Chihiro up with him. He called to Lin who nodded, and rose as well. As the trio ran from the chamber, Chihiro remembered something.

"Wait! Ryu! We can't just leave him..."

"Yes we can!" said Lin, "He's the reason we're in this mess!"

"He was threatened Lin!"

Haku sighed, "Lin, you get Chihiro out of here, I'll go get Ryu..."

"But-" Chihiro started, but Lin had grabbed her arm and was dragging her away.

A small set of stairs led upward, to the very door that Chihiro had found that morning. With some difficulty they pushed it open. The smell of burnt wood hit them both as soon as there was the smallest crack, making both women gag. They rose from the dark chamber to see the ruined remains of the bathhouse. All the wood was charred, or turned to ash by now, and here and there, areas were still burning. Chihiro felt her eyes cloud over with tears, and she struggled to hold them in. Ryu hadn't been lying. The Bathhouse was indeed gone. Under the smell of the wood was the smell of burning flesh.

Lin was holding her breath, though wether it was to avoid the smell, or hold in her own tears, Chihiro didn't know. The two walked for a ways, until they reached the edge of the ruins, and looked back over them.

"Lin? Chihiro?" said voices from behind them, making them jump. Both women turned to see Zeniba, No-Face, Boh, a few toads, and a few of the younger girls standing near by. "We thought you were dead..." said Boh, "Where were you?"

Both Lin and Chihiro stared for a moment, before Lin replied, "There's this chamber underneath the bathhouse.. we were under there... "

"Kei betrayed us," Chihiro said, simply, "She planned all this... Made Ryu set the fire..."

"Ryu was in on it before Kei threatened him, I'm afraid," said Zeniba, "He was hired by my sister, to cause a little mischeif, then leave... I should have seen Kei's involvement... We might have been spared this..." the woman paused a moment, "Where is Haku?"

As Chihiro started to answer, a loud cracking sound stopped her, and she spun to look towards the charred remains of the bathhouse, and saw a large chunk of it cave in. "NO!" she screamed, and started to run for the area, but foudn herself held back by Lin, and another girl, "HAKU!!"

----------------

After Lin and Chihiro were gone, Haku proceeded back to where Ryu and Kei were. Kei had appearently managed to put her kimiono out, for she was standing over Ryu, murderous intent written all over her, as the fire spirit struggled to breath. Spotting a naginata propped against the wall, Haku made a dash for it, making as little noise as possible. But as he went past Kei, he felt a sharp pain in his arm. Appearently he hadn't been quiet enough, for the source of the pain was Kei's claw-like fingernails being buried in his flesh.

Hissing in pain, he tried to wrench away, but Kei held on tight. "Oh no you don't, boy! I'm going to drain you dry, then I'm going to get your little girlfriend, too..."

Haku suddenly froze. And to Kei's surprise, and to his as well, he began to laugh, so coldly it rivaled even Kei. The woman had made the young dragon so angry that he had gone past the point of blind rage, and straight to the point of amusement. His laughter increased, until Kei was actually afraid. Involuntarily, she released his arm, and backed away a few steps.

"You really think you frighten me?" Haku asked, in a dead serious tone, "Do you honestly think that you can intimidate me, like you did Ryu?"

"No, not like I did Ryu," Kei spat, though not with as much self-confidence as she would have liked, "i don't intend to use you... Only kill you."

"You really have no idea who you're dealing with... do you?"

Before Kei could answer, he began to change forms, and before she had time to fully register what was happening, the boy was no longer there. In his place was a gigantic white dragon. He lunged at her, and Kei barely managed to escape being caught in his jaws. She snapped her shukusen open, as he went by her, making a long gash down his side. The dragon spun, and faced her, blood dripping on to the floor, forming a large pool. Kei allowed herself a small smirk of satisfaction. "The more you fight me, dragon, the more power I can drain from you while you're still alive..."

Haku emitted something like a scoff, before whipping his tail in her direction. Kei smiled at the dragon's growl of surprise when she held the end of his tail firmly her grip, "You see? So long as I'm near you, in this form, I can enjoy an endless flow of power."

_Alright then... _Haku thought, changing again, "I'll just have to beat you like this then, won't I?"

"You can try," Kei remarked, brushing her fingernails against her kimono, "All I have to do is finish off Ryu here, and I can proceed to burn you to a crisp."

"You mean this Ryu?" said a dry, cracked, voice. Ryu leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, struggling to stay up. He grabbed the naginata, and tossed it to Haku, who caught it easily, "Give her a good beating for me, would you, Scaly?"

Haku nodded, and faced Kei again.

"You know, Ryu," said Kei, "things wouldn't have happened like this, if you hadn't gotten a sudden case of guilt... You'd still be unharmed, and probably on your way out of here by now... But no... He had to try and be a Hero... I'll show you what happens to heroes as soon as I've finished with the dragon..."

Said dragon only shook his head, chuckled, and prepared to attack.

Ryu watched from the sidelines as Kei and Haku fought. Staying concious, and on his feet was getting harder and harder to do. He looked at one of his shaky hands, and saw that they were much, much paler than his normal, already pale skin tone. _I must look like a ghost... Which is what I'm going to be soon... _A sharp cry drew his attention back to the fight. Kei sported a long cut down her thigh, and her leg had already become almost comepletly scarlet from the blood flow. Angry, Kei lunged towards Haku. Big mistake. With the naginata, he had a five-foot eighteen-inch advantage over her, and he used it.

As Kei lunged, Haku easily side-stepped out of the way, and brought the naginata down, in one smooth movement. Kei was on the floor, sliced cleanly from shoulder to hip, blood pooling around her. Surprisingly, she laughed... Or rather, choked, but it ws still clearly meant to be a laugh.

"What's so amusing, Kei?" Haku asked, standing over her, "You're dying... I could finish you off, here and now, and not lose a bit of sleep over it... Or I could let you bleed to death. So what, I ask, could possibly be funny?"

"J-...just be-because you've...k-killed...me... It d-doesn't mean... you're g-going to escape... You're... going... down... with me..."

Ryu narrowed his eyes at the woman... what was she talking about? Then, Kei said one last thing, that neither Ryu nor Haku understood, and followed by it was the first sound of cracking stone.

----------------------

Chihiro broke free of her captors, and raced over to where the underground chamber had once been. The ceiling had caved in. It would have crushed anyone left in there. She stared down at the rubble, feeling numb. _He can't be dead... He can't be! _She heard rocking crumbling, and being moved about, but she ignored it... When someone tried to move her, she yanked away, so hard, she nearly toppled head first into the newly created pit. Whoever had tried to move her, caught her. She looked up at her rescuer, and found herself staring into an all too familiar pair of bright emerald eyes.

Before she had time to register that she wasn't imagining things, Haku had her in a tight embrace. Chihiro was stiff as a board for a moment, before she had her arms around the boy, holding him just as tight as he was her.

"I thought that... When I saw the place collapse..." she said. She leaned back away from him, and met his gaze. He leaned down, and kissed her, so deeply that Chihiro thought she might well fall down.

"Get a room," said a weak voice near by.

Chihiro looked, and saw Ryu being supported by Lin, as Zeniba looked at the gash across his chest.

'You're lucky, Ryu," said the old witch, "You would have been dead, if you hadn't been brought to me when you were."

"Thanks Ryu..." Chihiro said, nodding at him.

"For what?" he wanted to know.

'For helping us... If you hadn't come to your senses, we'd be dead..."

Haku and Lin nodded in agreement, and Haku said, "Thanks for the help you gave me, too..."

Ryu only gave them a bewildered look, before he winced as Zeniba began poking around the wound, to heal it.

--------------------

Several months, three magical mishaps, and at least twenty minor injuries later, the bathhouse was well on it's way to being comepletely rebuilt. It was hard, getting the help that was needed, considering that many of the employees had died in the fire, but they had managed. Luckily, the boiler room hadn't been harmed. In fact, Kamaji had slept through most of the incident, without knowing what was going on.

Haku, Chihiro, and Ryu stood back, admiring the newly built bathhouse. Ryu turned, and began to walk across the bridge. Both Chihiro and Haku turned to watch him.

"So you're really leaving?" Chihiro asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah," Ryu replied, "I helped rebuild the place... Now it's time to go... I don't think anyone around here would trust me, after what I did, anyway..."

"You're right," said Haku, though there was no hint of unpleasantness in his voice. He was simply pointing out the truth, "they wouldn't."

Chihiro gently elbowed him in the ribs, to let him know he could be a little more supportive, "Where're you gonna go?"

"Home... See if I can't track down what's left of my family... So long Chihiro... And you, Scaly." said the Fire spirit, with a wave, and a smirk. He continued across the bridge and out of sight.

"Was that Ryu leaving?" Lin asked, approaching them. Both Haku and Chihiro nodded. "Thought as much... Knew he wouldn't stick around much longer... Pity really, I was just starting to like the kid."

"You'll miss him," said Haku.

"And you know it," Chihiro finished, in a teasing manner.

"Bah, the fireball was nothing but trouble," Lin fake-scoffed. But she didn't deny their accusations.

As Lin turned, and left, muttering something about having work to do, Haku turned to Chihiro, "Well, we'll finally have some privacy, now that we've gotten this far."

"You mean so long as Lin doesn't pick the lock this time?" Chihiro joked.

Laughing, Haku replied, "Have to make sure she can't this time around." Chihiro nodded in agreement, and together they walked towards the new bathhouse.

---------------------

Somewhere, far off in the distance, a lonely fire spirit made his way to what had once been his home. He had lied to Chihiro, and Haku. He had no family left, all of them, were dead. Not that he wasn't used to being alone, in fact, he often preferred it that way... but after months of being around others, being alone didn't seem too great.  
But he had to stay away. That was certain. No one trusted him after what he'd done, and he didn't blame them. He didn't even trust himself anymore.

As he sat on an old stone, he felt a bit of cold air cross his spine, giving him the shivers. _Prob'ly nothing... _

"Hello again, Ryu," said a calm, cool, smooth-as-silk voice, that somehow sounded _dead_, "Did you miss me?"

END.

_I love ending things like that... Always so fun..._

_Anyway, only part I really liked about this chap was the ending bit... Rest just didn't seem right to me... But then, I'm always like that about the endings of my fics, particularly first ones, on a certain subject... I'll do more Spirited Away fanfics as soon as I've gotten to watch the movie again...And it is supposed to be shipped out thursday :p  
Most likely, it'll be a while before a full-length fic, but maybe a few One-Shots, and songfics, until then :p  
_


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